shrimp or not

[nurjrk]

Shrimp or not to shrimp, that is the question. 26g tank up since Thursday with 45lb lr. I had originally planned on leaving the lr cycle the tank. With the die off from the lr, is that enough to cylce or do I need to add a shrimp? Also, do I need to scrub of the white spots? If so should I take them out of the tank to do so. Waiting for the arival of my test kits, so no values yet.
Thanks, Jeff

 

[tlk]

Did the lr come from lfs or from online? If from lfs, probably not much die-off (if only out of water for an hour or so). May take longer than you want to cycle. I would add a piece of shrimp to speed up the cycle.

 

[nm reef]

If the LR was un-cured it will provide plenty of die off to initiate a cycle. It may take a bit longer than boosting it via fish or raw shrimp...but the time is worth the effort...remember nothing goes quick in this hobby and patience is a virtue.
As for cleaning off the LR....during the cycle I'd suggest using a turkey baster to blow off stuff from the LR...and use a machanical filter of some kind to filter away the larger stuff...possibly even use a net to manually remove larger stuff.
My first system was basically cycled with 50 lbs of un-cured LR and when I set up a larger display I plan to cycle with at least 100 lbs of un-cured LR...great way to establish a new system in my opinion.

NMREEF website
“Whiskey for my men...beer for my horses.”
nmreef@cox.net

 

[nurjrk]

lr came from online source. I do have some white spots that I kinda brushed off with my hand when I rearanged the rock (already). I don't plan on putting any fish in till mid Aug. anyway, so I am in no rush. But I will put a shrimp in to help things out.
Thanks, Jeff

 

[nurjrk]

lr was cured. I do have a skilter (not in use) so I should put that on for a little while? I am also running a CPR refugium with ls and lr but no macro yet, when should I add that and where should I get some from?
Thanks, Jeff

 

[jenni1979]

I am not sure if you know anything about that Skilter, but it is a piece of crap. I have one and I have had trouble with it. Do a search for Skilter on the forums and read up on what other people are saying. There is also a Skilter modification that I am about to try. Some people say it helps out a lot. If the modification does not work, i am going to upgrade to the CPR pak-pak 2.

 

[nurjrk]

Was only gonna use the skilter for the bilogical filter while the tank cycled then take it off. I didn't like it when I used it before, loud and didn't put out much foam.
thanks, Jeff

 

[jenni1979]

You probably won't have a problem then, but I am still kind of new at this hobby. I just wanted to give my opinion about the Skilter. Maybe someone else can answer that question better than me. Good luck

 

[nurjrk]

Thank you Jenni
Jeff

 

[beaslbob]

I do not agree with cycling with dead shrimp. Live fish such as mollies, provide urea, carbon dioxide, slime and everythign else the is associated with a living fish. And those are at a constant level. A dead shrip will kick off the nitrogen cycle in a hugh spike then taper off. That can lead to cloudy, smelly water as the bacteria bloom and then die off.
I have also found that adding a molly and then not feeding him for a week works fine and the fish does not die.